Taking out and replacing side windows

Brand new rubber
dresses the glass up nicely

 I ordered two seals for my back side windows. The old VW is getting a face lift. Maybe not so much a face lift as a nice shot of BOTOX around the eyes. These new seals look great and will make my bug like new once finished.

After the trial and error experiencing removing both the rear and front glass, I found an easier way to to take out the windows. After pulling of the aluminum trim, cut the old seal all the way through the trim's channel.  Next cut between the window and seal (lift the rubber and slip the carpet knife blade in and slice to meet the cut you made in the channel). This will allow you to remove just the part of the seal holding the window in. Press the window gently from the inside and it should pop out. Next, just remove the old seal.

The channel for the new
aluminum trim

Where it took almost and hour to install the new seal around the back window, I developed a rhythm and method. The second window took about 30 minutes and the third window to 10 minutes. Use the same technique I mentioned earlier. This time you will be able to feel what is right and what works. Practice makes you faster. I'm looking forward to seeing how fast I get the windshield done. 

Replacing Window Seals

Ok, how hard can it be? Just pull up the video on YouTube and follow the directions, Right?

The only thing is, you can't feel what they feel nor see what they see on YouTube. You just have to experience it for yourself. And today, I experienced it.

Pull this clamp off and expose the chrome ends

I began with removing the chrome from around the window seal. First I grabbed the bottom chrome clamp with my needle nose pliers and yanked it out. Next, I grabbed a chrome trim edge and pulled that out. Soon I was staring at the remaining dry rotted seal.

Trim along the seal with a carpet cutter. Then pull the top
seal to expose glass

I dispatched that quickly by rimming straight through the crevice where the chrome was seated. This in turn split the seal in half all along its length. I chiseled the bottom half with a screw driver and soon exposed the ends of the class.

Chip away the rest of the seal and remove it.

I slid the screw drive tip under the glass and lifted it out. Be careful, the glass is heavier than it looks.

You might have to trim off the head liner if it is glued to the seal.

Put the glass on a soft surface and clean it

Next, put the glass on something soft and clean it.

All done

The most difficult is putting the seal around the glass. Actually, the hardest is to determine which channel the glass fits in. The smooth area with two channels is what you need to focus on. There is one channel for the chrome and one for the window. 

This can be determined by holding the seal. The inside part of the seal has a tight curve at the end. This goes inside the car. The channel closest to it is where you want to put window.

Work the corners on first. I had good luck beginning with putting the left corner on first and forcing the glass into the channel while simultaneously rocking the seal. Then I worked my way around the entire glass. I didn't use any silicone or soap, just plain old rocking and leverage. I used a plastic tool to help seat the seal.

This takes an hour or more (my first time) and takes endurance and forearm strength. Lift the seal 90 degrees away from the glass with one hand and seat the seal with the other. It's still difficult, but it is a good technique.

Have fun.

People's Wagon Merchandise Shop

Great VW swag here.

Red Bike Publishing Merchandise Shop

Happy to have my vintage license plates

When my dad was in the Army, we lived in Germany. All the US Armed Forces Europe had specialized license plates that distinguished their affiliation. Now of course things are different.

I bought a vintage 70's plate on ebay and it looks great...

Replacing the Volkswagen Steering Wheel

Steering wheel is warped as 
the bottom curves toward dash.

It seems the steering wheel is bent, seriously bent. The previous owner had crashed the bug. The damage was light outside, but seriously, this steering wheel was mangled. It looked decent as there was a steering wheel cover, hiding most of the minor flaws. But, there was no denying the wheel was crooked.

I decided to bide my time and save up the 200 bucks to buy and after market replica. They are very nice looking and would make the car look much better. However, I was fortunate enough to find one on Ebay from a seller store called Bavarian Rescue.

I choose not to use a steering wheel cover. So, I was fortunate to find the vintage wheel with no flaws. An original and in great, no, fantastic shape. The bonus, is I got it for under 50 bucks with shipping. Pair that up with the stainless steel horn ring from West Coast Metric, Inc and Horn button from Wagen Werks,I've got a nice prize.

Someone told me I would need a puller to get the wheel off, but I got it off fairly simple. Pop the horn button off with my fingernail grasp, remove three screws, and a large nut and off it came. 

To remove the wheel:

1. Make sure the VW is not moving
2. Snap off the horn button with a flat plastic object (fingernail works fine, it's spring activated. Just put tool under the button and wedge it off.)
3. Unscrew ground wire.
4. Unscrew spring loaded horn ring screws with standard screw driver with narrow point as screw head space is narrow (save screws and springs in proper order for re-assembly).
5. Use vice grips or wide wrench or socket to remove large steering wheel bolt.
6. Pull on wheel to remove.

4 screws and a large nut and  you're done

To install new wheel, just reverse the process.

New wheel in awesome shape

Tail Pipe Chrome Exhaust

Clang! That's the noise I heard. I knew something was wrong, but did not know exactly what the problem could be. It wasn't until I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a tail pipe tumbling end over end and cars were swerving out of the way, that I understood what was happening. A second later, the perfectly humming engine began it's throaty roar. Not a bad sound actually.

I'd never thrown a tail pipe before, so I started searching the internet and asked experts like my father. Yep, I'd thrown a tailpipe and yes, it's supposed to be loud like that. However, it's just noise and won't hurt the engine. An no, I don't need a new exhaust, just a new tailpipe.

I ordered my tailpipe from www.westcoastmetric.com and it arrived in a few days. I actually ordered two so that I could have a brand new shiny set. However, I only ordered one set of clamps and had to reuse one of the older sets.

The job was easy, just loosen the old clamps, slide the tailpipe into the muffler, tighten the new clamps and your off.

Be sure to insert the tailpipe as far as it will go. Also, install the clamp so that it covers the tailpipe and muffler  lips. If not, the tailpipe won't stay on.

image courtesy of http://www.clubvw.org.au/oldart016

Good looking dash area-Bamboo shelf for 69 VW Beetle

I just received the bamboo shelf from Jbugs.com I ordered recently. It got here in no time and looks really nice and I can’t wait to use it. I set it up just above my drink holder as well. I can’t wait to actually be able to keep the bug clean on the inside by the storage space concealed under the dash board. It looks really good too.

Beetle parts never come with instructions, so you have to search them out. This bamboo shelf came with four shelf brackets and 8 screws. I was planning to drill and screw, but a thought occurred to me; why not see if it fits.

It did fit and looks great. The best news is I didn’t have to use the hardware. For some reason the shelf fits so snug (I believe it is the thick carpet) that it is in for good. I’ll test it on the road and make sure it doesn’t vibrate loose. But for now, it looks solid.

I’ll be moving speakers and radio to different locations so the bamboo shelf can be better featured.

Heater hoses

I have been working on the trunk area and am almost finished. My current project is completing the installation of all hoses to the fresh air box. Some of these hoses are for fresh air and the others, for defrost.

Before, vacuum cleaner hoses, rust, taped up hoses, broken fresh air box. 
Time to get to work.

The hoses leading to the heat tunnels are important, and the most difficult to replace. These are to the left and right of the trunk on the passenger and driver side. Basically, they run between trunk and the door, down the length of the door where the door hinges are. They are hard to get to and made of paper. Chances are, yours might be just as shredded as mine were and need replacing.
The important thing is to ensure you don’t throw away the old ones until the replacements arrive. I’ve purchased mine from both Jbugs.com and westcoastmetric.com.
Here’s how they should be set up:When installing, clean out all disintegrated hose material down and around the heat channel. These run up behind the trunk and along the left and right sides of the floor boards. There is a viewing port about an inch in diameter on the post just above the bottom door hinges and toward the wall between the seats and trunk (you’ll have to pull back the carpet to find them). Use a screw driver, knife or something sharp to scrape away the old paper hose and glue. Use a shop vacuum to suck away the many years of junk that may have fallen into it. I found old pencils, bolts and waded up old papers.

This is from Samba.com. The diagram is for a 72-73 beetle, 
but it provides a plan for my '69

Next cut the hoses to the proper lenght. They always come too long, so be prepared to cut them to the right size. The hose leading from the plastic hose junction piece to the bottom should be about a foot and a half long. Measure and install those hoses first as they are the most difficult to install. The ones I bought were not wide enough to fit over the channel or the plastic piece. I had to improvise tape the hose to the plastic piece. At the heater channel, I taped a smaller diameter piece to taper it into the hole. It wasn’t an easy fix, but it’s functioning. 

Hoses are cut and installed. Not pretty, but functional.                                                                                 The tape is there because I crushed the hose with the trunk hinge.

 Then hook up the other hoses. Be sure to slowly close the hood once installed. If any of the hoses are in the way, the trunk will crush them.

The trunk is now complete.

The Trunk

Newly painted area. Rug is pulled back to reveal fuel tank

I painted the entire trunk with Miracle Paint. It did the job of sealing the trunk's rust holes and improving the overall appearance. So far, so good.



Trunk before painting

I will have to buy new carpeting to cover some of the aesthetics of mismatched wires and random cables but it should look great once complete.

I ordered fresh air box and defrost hoses. I'm waiting for the defrost hoses that run to the heater channels and once they come in, can assemble the entire deal. The cleaning process is described in another post.

I ordered a new seal for the fresh air box. I’m hoping this will prevent the water from covering in that caused all the rust in the first place. This seal fits between the trunk and the box, making it water tight.

Old Box

Once the seal arrived, I tried to install it. That’s when I discovered the box was broken around the seal. The owner had silicon glued the seal in place, but it didn’t fit correctly and allowed water to drain in.

New Box

Fortunately I was able to find a decent used one (couldn’t find any in the obvious online stores, but a friend of a friend had one). The only thing is I forgot how to put the fresh air box back in. Everything works, but I just have to install it correctly. 

Seals and Turn Signals

I was trying to install new seals for the front and rear turn signals. Unfortunately, I had three problems:

1. The fender was a different color under the old seals and the new seals didn’t cover the paint. I had a horrible experience with matching spray paint. The paint didn't perform well and sprayed beyond the 
2. The wires were so brittle some of the female ends broke off. This left the wires too short requiring new splicing and the ends reconnected
3. The original signal light metal assembly had a broken bolt. I had to drill it out and do my best to put in a replacement bolt

All repairs taxed my novice skill level. I did my best, but it’s not too pretty. Hopefully this will be something nice once all said and done.

Fixing Rust

Huge gaping rusting holes. That’s all I can say about this project. Actually, this is only in the one area, right under the rear cargo storage area. I pulled back the carpeting and insulation to discover the rotting mess.

After some online research I found a wonderful product called Miracle Paint. A few thin coats of that on the fiber glass mesh and viola, instant metal, or a close proximity. The repair was successful and I don’t have the burnt oil and exhaust fumes leaking in any more.

Here’s how you get to it:

Remove the back seat and back rest.

For the bench, just pull up on the front and pull out. The seat just slides out.

For the back rest, you’ll need to remove two bolts at either end. Then pull off the carpet and insulation. Chances are that these will be glued down and you’ll replace them. I spent about $200 on mine from www.westcoastmetric.com (includes carpet for entire interior and the insulation).

Grind down the metal a bit. You can leave some rust and apply rust restoration spray from the  auto parts store.

A shop vac comes in handy to clean up the 50 years of dirt, dust, food and whatever is hanging around under the seats.

Then apply the miracle paint onto the mesh. Be sure to pre-cut the mesh to fit the repair area.

Proud new owner

I just bought a 69 VW Beetle from a man who restored it to driving condition. I love driving it around, but it still needs some work. I bought it for $1500 and understood it may still need some “polishing”. I am enjoying fixing it up and learning how it works. I’ll use this blog to share our story.

First things first and that’s safety. I drove my kids around the block and one of the dry rotted tires went flat. I called around to see what would fit and none of the big box companies could help. They didn’t understand the small tire size. It wasn’t until I called Big 10 Tires that they could help me out. I had to go a little wider, but there were able to put the right ones on. When I pulled up with the bug, I got the royal treatment. They loved my car.

Now that I’ve got new tires, I drove around to work and around the neighborhood. I got a lot of thumbs up and encouragement. It’s so nice. However, I have to find out what’s making me dizzy.

Apparently exhaust has been leaking into the cabin, so I climbed in back to see what was up. It wasn’t until I removed the rear luggage storage carpet and insulation material that I discovered the deal; rusted floor pan.

Next I rip out the entire interior and find more rust and holes. At the same time I go into the trunk to find out what could be causing air to rush in through my ash gray and other areas.

I also discover water standing under the trunk carpeting. The problem; A missing drain hose from the fresh air box. I follow that line and do research and discover that it’s a large problem; water and air leaks through this system.

In the mean time, I’ve been making small improvements by replacing old control knobs on the dash and the horn ring and cover on the steering wheel.

Here are my favorite stores online:

www. westcoastmetric.com

www. jbugs.com

http://www.vw-wagenwerks.com/servlet/Categorieswww.wolfsburgwest.com

Visit often as I will document my journey to a further restoration of this magnificent car.